Climate, tourism threaten to bleed out Lakshadweep’s corals

Lakshadweep's ecology faces threats from rising sea temperatures and tourism projects, endangering coral reefs and local livelihoods.

Lakshadweep’s ecology has been imperilled by heating seas and a string of tourism projects. HT, in a series supported by the Pulitzer Center, looks at the changes that have hit the vibrant archipelago off India’s southwest coast

An aggregation of damsel fish in the thickets of a branching Acropora corals in Agatti. (Alvin Anto)

Kavaratti: Saheer Ali a diving instructor at Kavaratti first noticed mass bleaching of corals in the shallow lagoon on the western coast of Kavaratti island in April. The whitened reefs made him feel a deep grief--the kind when you see a loved one